Mankind has always been fascinated by the unknown, especially unidentified flying objects. Are they alien aircraft, acts of nature, or simply hoaxes? Here are some images to help you decide.

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Photograph of an alleged UFO in New Jersey, taken on July 31, 1952.

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Dec. 9, 2012: A choreographed ballet of lights, reported by some as a UFO sighting, danced over the Mission district of San Francisco in the wee hours. The lights seemed to hover calmly above the city, then slowly drift away in unison, as seen in an amateur video.

(YouTube)

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Dec. 3, 2012: In the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, an amateur video captured a slow-moving parade of lights overhead. The trio of lights appeared to move in a coordinated fashion, slowing down and then moving again in roughly the same direction and at the same speed.

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Team Ocean Explorer finds UFO in Baltic

Aug. 3, 2011: An ocean exploration team led by Swedish researcher Peter Lindberg has found what some are suggesting is a crashed flying saucer. Lindberg's team used sonar to look for the century-old wreck of a ship that went down carrying several cases of a super-rare champagne. Instead, the team discovered what it claims is a mysterious round object that might (or might not) be extraterrestrial. Read more

(Ocean Explorer/Peter Lindberg)

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London UFO

June 29, 2011: A viral video making the rounds on the Internet purported to show a "mothership" and at least three separate smaller alien spacecraft filmed in the skies over London. Some believe that the videos are merely a viral marketing tool to publicize the upcoming alien sci-fi film "Iron Sky." Others said the crudeness of the London UFOs may be a sign of fakery. Read more.

(YouTube)

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Mar. 1, 2011: A UFO spied in the skies over Sao Paulo has all of Brazil buzzing. The amateur footage, shown on Brazilian TV station G1, shows blurry footage of a disc-shaped object hovering in the clouds for a minute or so -- before disappearing in a bright flash of light, followed by a trail of colorful bursts. Read more

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Dome of the Rock UFO

Feb. 3, 2011: A glowing orb filmed hovering over the skyline of Jerusalem has left UFO experts dumbfounded. The circular object was seen descending slowly over the holy city's iconic Dome of the Rock before flickering and shooting skyward like a rocket. Read more

(YouTube)

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Crop Circle

Jan. 24, 2011: Indonesia’s first crop circles have appeared -- and locals called it evidence of alien life. Found in a rice field in a hamlet of Sleman, Yogyakarta, the crop circle consists of triangles and circles with a diameter of about 70 meters. While some observes said the shapes were manmade, local scientists and government officials struggling for a concrete explanation. Read more

In the Clouds

Looking like a scene right out of the movie Independence Day, this glowing halo in the sky was seen in the sky over Moscow, Russia in early October 2009. UFO experts were baffled by the sighting but Moscow's weather bureau claimed the effect was caused by several weather fronts passing through Moscow as the sun shined from the west.

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Retro UFO

This grainy black and white image purports to show a UFO hovering over Passoria, New Jersey, in July, 1952.

(Wikipedia)

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In the Clouds

Are we being watched by visitors from outer space? This photograph taken in April of 2008 purports to show a UFO over Dudley, England.

(The Sun)

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Like the Movies

It looks like the aliens from the 2009 film District 9 were scouting some locations California, before the film aired. This photo was taken in 2008 by the mysterious Internet persona known as 'Raji' before he oddly went missing.

('Raji')

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UFO or Missle Failure?

A strange light phenomenon is seen in the night sky above Skjervoy in northern Norway early Wednesday December 9, 2009. According to some reports, the unexplained light may have been caused by the failure of a new Russian anti-submarine-based intercontinental missile which was being tested across the Norwegian-Russian border.

(AP)

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UFO In England

A still from a YouTube clip showing something hovering over southwestern England during the summer of 2008.

In March of 2009, Britain made secret UFO files open to the public after British intelligence officers scoured hundreds of UFO sighting reports in the 1980s and 1990s looking for top-secret American stealth-plane projects.

(YouTube)

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UFO In England

Mysterious light formations emitting from an unidentified flying object are seen in the night sky of England.

In March of 2009, Britain made secret UFO files open to the public after British intelligence officers scoured hundreds of UFO sighting reports in the 1980s and 1990s looking for top-secret American stealth-plane projects.

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UFO In England

This video grab of a saucer-shaped object was taken in England shortly before Britain made secret UFO files open to the public.

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UFO Over Ireland...Or California

A video purporting to show a UFO over Ireland made the rounds in British tablets early 2010 but People's Daily Magazine pointed out that the video in question was posted on YouTube in December of 2008 -- where it is listed as having been filmed in Fremont, California.

(YouTube)

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Morristown UFO Hoax

The Morristown UFO hoax was originally thought to be an unidentified aerial event that occurred on Monday, January 5, 2009, between 8:15 pm and 9:00 pm. The event was actually a hoax, meant to be a social experiment.

(Wikipedia)

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UFOs Over Lake Erie

A Lake Erie, Ohio resident claimed in March 2010 that he snapped half a dozen photos of something unusual floating in the sky. The photographer claimed the object emitted colors, flew solo and occasionally in group formations.

(MyFox8.com/Eugene Erlikh)

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Natural Explanation for UFOs

Mysterious UFO sightings may go hand in hand with a puzzling natural phenomenon known as sprites — flashes high in the atmosphere triggered by thunderstorms.